Mischief and Mistletoe

Mischief and Mistletoe

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3.44 of 5 stars 3.44  ·  rating details  ·  154 ratings  ·  43 reviews
In this sparkling holiday collection, eight acclaimed authors unwrap the most daring of Regency delights…
Christmastime in England—a time for passionate secrets, delicious whispers, and wicked-sweet gifts by the fire. From a spirited lady who sets out to save her rakish best friend from an unsuitable engagement, to a bold spy who gets the unexpected chance to win the woman...more
Paperback, 320 pages
Published September 25th 2012 by Zebra
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Ana T.
I have a great fondness for those traditional regency anthologies that publishers used to put out every holiday season (as you can see from my anthologies index) and when I discovered that this anthology was going to be published I was naturally happy and eager to get my hands on it. I am sorry to say that it didn't entirely work for me, some stories I enjoyed, others not so much. I think one of the problems is that some of them seemed to short - or the author was unable to develop characters an...more
Ilze
Jo Beverley's story is very good (4+ stars), Mary Jo Putney's and Anne Gracie's stories are pleasant enough but too short (3 stars), but Joanna Bourne's is very hard to follow (2 stars). Susan King's and Cara Elliott's stories are delightful, given the short format, and so are Nicola Cornick's and Patricia Rice's - 4 stars for all of them.
Cindy
It used to be a publisher would take 2 or 3 novellas & bring them out for Christmas. You'd have stories that were short, but somewhat satisfying in character developement & content. Now you have EIGHT very short stories stuffed into ONE book!! Not very satisfying at all. I give this book 3 stars for the 3 or 4 stories I most liked.

Mary Jo Putney - 3 stars. interesting story, but TOO short!

Jo Beverley - 4 stars. She finds it very difficult to write a boring story! You never know what R...more
Julie Barrett
Mischief and Mistletoe by Mary Jo Putney, Jo Beverley and 6 others
Each of the 6 stories is Christmas themed and about 50 pages long. Historical English at Christmas time, balls, huge festivities, plays,
Stories tend to be a woman seeking a man that has crossed her life in earlier years, it's Christmas time and the want the magical and mystical part of it all.
Really enjoyed reading of all the themed locations, I can just see all the lighted candles in each window upon driving up to the house. Thes...more
Lord Rose
As with most anthologies, there were some stories I liked and some I didn't. And although I've enjoyed books by most of these authors, I'm not sure they're all particularly good at writing short stories.

Mary Jo Putney's story was pretty fun, although the heroine, a vicar's daughter, dressing up and helping at the tavern seemed a bit dumb. It would only take one person recognizing her for her reputation to be in ruins, and wigs can fall off, especially if you're moving around a lot (as she was).

J...more
My Book Addiction and More MBA
MISCHIEF AND MISTLETOE by Mary Jo Putney,Jo Beverley, Joanna Bourne,Patricia Rice,Nicola Cornick,Cara Elliott,Anne Gracie, and Susan King is an interesting Regency historical romance. Eight wonderful authors write eight delicious Regency stories. "Mischief and Mistletoe" is full of mischief,passion,romance,Christmastide,and love. If you enjoy Regency romance you will enjoy this collection of stories. Received for an honest review from the publisher. For more details visit the author's website,Ke...more
SOS Aloha
There are but very few men clever enough to know all the mischief they do. - Francois de La Rochefoucauld

There are but a very few writers clever enough to know what they can achieve with an anthology. Those writers are known as the Word Wenches! Each writer is a decorated veteran in Regency Romance, setting the standard for others to follow. It is a singular treat for historical fans to have a holiday sampling from this elite eight … as if they are Santa’s reindeer, delivering love, hope and ch...more
Kimba (Caffeinated Book Reviewer)
Mischief and Mistletoe is a collection of historical fiction romances set around the Yuletide season. This was a delightful collection and while I had favorites I can honestly say I enjoyed each and every tale by these talented authors

She Stoops to Wenchdom by Mary Jo Putney shares the story of a damaged young man’s return from war and that of a young woman who goes to extremes to get his attention. It was sweet, funny and made me feel warm and fuzzy.

Miss Brockhurst’s Christmas Campaign by Jo Be...more
Kathy Jund
Tales of Mischief during the Christmas season!

Mischief and Mistletoe is the wondrous collaboration of eight women known as the “Word Wenches”, a group of highly talented authors who often can be found on the New York Times and USA Today bestsellers lists. These fine women have come together to bring forth their own flair for storytelling with a Christmas twist. Mary Jo Putney, Jo Beverly, Joanna Bourne, Patricia Rice, Nicola Cornick, Cara Elliott, Anne Gracie and Susan King will capture your hea...more
Charlotte
Putney, 3stars. Heroine disguises herself as barwench to attract war hero. Clunky dialogue, too simplistic plot.
Beverley, 2stars. Barely qualifies as a romance, as the plot is heroine squaring off with rival for bland, barely-there hero's affections, not about the couple at all. Yet the resolution has the rival dissappearing off page, while on page the hero and heroine says their Iloveyous. Very poor.
Bourne, 4stars. Very good. Slow reveal of characters stranded at inn during snowstorm, with a F...more
Carla
Get into the spirit of Christmas, Yule, and Mistletoe - The holiday season is a blink away and what better to get you in the mood than this wonderful anthology.
From Beverly to Putney - a total of eight quick (about 40-50 pages long) romances that truly bring the spirit of love, romance, and Christmas into your heart.
I loved that so many writers gathered to make these stories. It was also very convenient to be able to do a chore, sit to lunch and complete a full story.
Jennifer Crump
This is a great compilation of stories by some amazing authors. Each story is set around Christmas in England. Each is full of strong female characters and devilish handsome men. If you want to get in the mood for Christmas and have a great time reading some great stories definitely pick up this book. Each story is around 50 pages and keeps your interest throughout the entire book. This is great book to introduce yourself to new authors and historical romance.
Darlene
I look forward to the October collections of Regency era Xmas stories. There aren't as many as there used to be, but Mischief & Mistletoe does help to fill the void. All the stories are well done, though I especially liked Jo Bourne's because I felt like I knew at least one of the characters.

This collection will be enjoyed by Regency fans, fans of holiday stories, and anyone who wants a good read in small bites.
Kathy
Mixed bag of short stories, all supposedly having a Christmas theme (although a couple barely mentioned Christmas). Some were good, some were so-so, all could have benefited from being longer. A couple read like they were a chapter taken from a larger book, with rushed/abrupt endings. My favorites were the stories by Mary Jo Putney and Jo Beverly. I give the book three stars because of the unevenness of the quality of the stories.
Lizzie
I did my best and worked my way through all the stories, but at the end of the day the only one worth it is Joanna Bourne's lovely tale of reunited lovers foiling an espionage plot. Consider this five stars for Bourne's story and minimal love for the rest.
Gevera Bert
I was disappointed in this book. The stories were too short and too predictable; they lacked any kind of drama or conflict and seemed very formulaic. "I like him but I'm afraid to tell him!" "I like her but I'm afraid to tell her" "It's Christmas, let's confess our feelings and live happily ever after." Kiss-kiss, the end.
Paraphrodite
When you have a book with 7 short stories, you can't expect much character development. In most of the stories, the meet, falling in love and HEA all happened within days before Christmas. But as light-hearted, very tame Regency fare, this fits the bill and provides the necessary lift to your Christmas spirits.
Barbara
These were all very short stories; a few of lost loves meeting again (my favorite trope) and several others of meeting at a Christmas house party. It was a perfect read for the between times while baking and cooking Christmas treats. J Bourne - nice allusion to Owl in her story.
Trish Remley
You can't get any more light hearted than the stories in this book, but they were a nice/quick change. England - Christmas - Mistletoe - Romance - Love - A Wench Inn in each and each of the 8 stories in 50 pages or less! What more could you want?
Esme
DNF. I read the first four stories and found them just the thing for the Christmas season. I love the protagonist of "Miss Brockhurst's Christmas Campaign," though it disappointed me the plot was more about spurning a rival rather than honorably winning the gentleman's favor. "Wench in Wonderland" was my least favorite. I plan to finish the book at a future Christmas.
Louise Allen
Not all the stories in this Christmas anthology would have received 4* from me individually, but enough of them would to make up for a couple of less enjoyable tales. Overall a great read
Gerrie
The short stories by Anne Gracie, Mary Jo Putney, and Jo Beverley were solid 4 - 4.5 star reads for me, and I'm giving the book 4 stars based on those three stories.
Dls
I am not a big fan of anthologies but this one is really nice. The authors are all Word Wench bloggers and their interest in historical fidelity really shows.
Jackie
Eight stories by eight different authors all set in early 19th century Wales and England. All include a bar called the Wench something. Nice period pieces.
The Romantic Scientist
A good collection of holiday novellas. My full review is here: http://scienceofromance.blogspot.com/...
Amy
Eight stories, set during the holiday season in England and Scotland in the 1800's.

These are just nice holiday stories to put you in the holiday mood.
Jeanne Mulcahy
A couple of the stories were OK (not great), others were fair, and others were poor. I even felt a bit personally insulted by one.
Mskchick
She Stoops to Wenchdom by Mary Jo Pitney was insipid. And, of course, since it's a short story, he knows it's love after 0.2 seconds!
Judy Goodnight
8 short stories of love set against the backdrop of Christmastime in England & Scotland in the early 1800's.

A just-for-fun read
Deborah Sullivan
Uneven. I find I almost never like sea-based stories--woman pirates, sailing women....snoozefest. Not the period pieces aren't forced to begin with, but these are SO forced. So I ended up not reading much of the one sea-based one in this group.
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Mischief and Mistletoe (ebook)
Mischief and Mistletoe (Paperback)
Mischief and Mistletoe (Kindle Edition)
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She writes young adult fiction as M.J. Putney.

Mary Jo Putney was born in Upstate New York with a reading addiction, a condition for which there is no known cure. After earning degrees in English Literature and Industrial Design at Syracuse University, she did various forms of design work in California and England before inertia took over in Baltimore, Maryland, where she has lived very comfortably...more
More about Mary Jo Putney...
The Rake Dark Mirror (Dark Mirror, #1) Thunder & Roses (Fallen Angels #1) One Perfect Rose (Fallen Angels #7) The Bargain (Regency #1)

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